


A Void

by wyvernsongs



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, Happy Ending, Multi, crossposted from fanficnet, kind uther, melancholically, pro-magic Camelot, sort of a "what if" scenario
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 11:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11758560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernsongs/pseuds/wyvernsongs
Summary: In which Arthur's mother didn't die, and the life that had been taken away to balance the hands of fate was to be Merlin's. As Arthur grows older, he feels an absence in his life. He doesn't know who or what this absence is and he may never know.





	A Void

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in 2013. Dug it up and decided to post it here, as well. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

 

「 _A Void_ 」

All his life Arthur had a distinct feeling there was something he was missing—someone he was missing. He now knew whom he was missing for sure: his meant-to-be brother. Brother in bond, not blood, but… a soulmate, of sorts. Where was he?

He remembered once asking his mother if he used to have a brother who died when he was born. She answered with a serene smile, golden ringlets framing her face, that she couldn't have any other children without the risk of using magic. He couldn't hear her troubled thoughts: _The one lost in childbirth would have been you,_ could _have been you._

He had no confirmation of the validity of this unshakeable sensation until his coming of age. His father figured it was a love phase he was going through, so when Arthur fell in love with Guinevere, King Uther happily accepted the blacksmith's daughter. Even so, the void that Arthur noticed in his heart remained unquenched.

At his engagement party, his eyes swept the crowd, unconsciously looking for that someone—that someone who would change his life for the better. That someone was absent.

Several months later, he went on a quest to proclaim his right to be officially named heir to the throne. It went smoothly, but he still hadn't encountered that special someone, the brother whose absence he so keenly felt. He was dubbed crown prince shortly after his successful return.

Arthur had a wonderful reign. He was proud father of two children with his queen, and eventually adopted Morgana's son, Mordred. Sadly, Morgana's heath declined over the years and she passed away during Mordred's eleventh summer on their beautiful, magic accepting kingdom. Guinevere herself passed peacefully after witnessing her eldest son's coronation as crown prince.

Many years later, on his death bed, he saw a person in the far corners of his mind: pale skin, sharp cheekbones, raven-black hair, cerulean blue eyes and a cheeky-yet-cheery smile on a tall and lanky frame. It was during Arthur's last moments that he saw the person for whom he had spent his life waiting: his other half.

 _See you on the other side, Merlin._ Arthur wasn't sure how he knew the man's name. The dark-haired man just smiled and held out an arm towards him, calling him home.

「 _A life for a life._ 」

**Author's Note:**

> Someone commented on fanfic, "Not to be a downer or anything, didn't it seem like Arthur's reign was fine without Merlin? Sorry, Merlin." and it makes my heart hurt all over again ahhh. 
> 
> Anyway. 
> 
> Comments are love. ♥️


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